Over 200 million people worldwide use DSL technology to access the internet, according to figures released yesterday at Broadband World Forum Asia in Beijing.
The stats, compiled by Point Topic, show a 29 per cent increase in DSL subscribers over the past 12 months. Globally, DSL remains by far the most popular broadband access …

Sony is facing legal action from a Californian company over claims of patent infringement in its use of Blu-ray technology in the PlayStation 3 games console. Target Technology is demanding that three Sony-related companies stop manufacturing and distributing all Blu-ray discs. The firm alleges that the technology used to …

Cable & Wireless has played down suggestions of a planned takeover as the firm announced that it more than doubled its annual pre-tax profits to £249m.
The telecoms group, which has been dogged by takeover rumours for the past few months, said on Thursday that it had achieved 'better-than-expected' progress in the turnaround of …

Research released Tuesday by email archiving firm Waterford Technologies has shown that over 50 per cent of files stored by companies are never accessed again.
The figures highlight the growing - and often unnecessary - cost of storage for firms, according to Gary Cosgrave, sales director of Waterford Technologies, a provider …

The clampdown on video copyright abuse continued Monday as social network giant MySpace announced measures to curb the use of copyrighted videos on member pages.
A new feature, called Take Down Stay Down, prevents users from reposting videos that have been removed at the request of the copyright owner. MySpace has several other …

The market has reacted positively to Alcatel-Lucent's first quarter results despite the telecoms equipment maker's results being down across the board.
Shares in the French-American firm reached a six-month high on Friday morning, jumping 4.4 percent to €10.15 in Paris before settling down to €9.97.
Alcatel-Lucent recorded …

Profits were down at global mobile phone giant Nokia yesterday although quarterly sales remained strong.
First quarter financial results for the Finnish giant show net profits stood at €979m, down seven per cent on close to €1.05bn last year.
This is despite a four per cent increase in sales compared to last year with overall …

Nokia increased its share of the global mobile handset in the first quarter of 2007 but growth in the industry has slowed considerably.
A total of 252 million handsets were shipped worldwide in the quarter, up 12 per cent on the same period in 2006 according to Strategy Analytics.
This was the first quarter in almost two years …

Weak handset sales hit Motorola's results in the first quarter, as the mobile manufacturer revealed a loss for the three-month period.
The world's second biggest mobile phone manufacturer just managed to hit analysts' expectations with a loss of $181 million, or $0.08 a share, as increased competition in the market hit home. …

Iona, the Irish software house, continued its acquisition spree with the purchase of LogicBlaze on Tuesday.
LogicBlaze provides business integration solutions based on open source technologies. In a statement, Iona said its latest acquisition is based on the assumption that its future service oriented architecture (SOA) …

Proof that notebooks are the future comes in a new IDC forecast which predicts that laptops will surpass desktops to become the most popular type of PC by 2011. According to IDC, bulky beige boxes are out and slick, shiny new notebooks are in as far as consumers are concerned, and it's a trend that's likely to continue to grow …

Novell has recorded a $12m drop in revenues for the first quarter of 2007.
The networking software firm reported net revenues of $230m for the period ending 31 January, (Q1 '06: $242m). Novell posted net losses of $19.9m for the quarter, resulting in a loss per share of $0.06, compared with net profits of $1.8m and flat …

Irish telcos have reacted angrily to Eircom's plan to upgrade its network infrastructure, with one industry group claiming it could eliminate competition.
Eircom has confirmed it intends to invest €60m on upgrading its central telecommunications network. The upgrade will bring increased bandwidth to 240 Eircom exchanges, …

SanDisk is to axe 250 staff - 10 per cent of the payroll - to combat plunging memory stick prices.
Executive salaries will be cut by between 10 and 20 per cent while the salaries of all other employees will be frozen with a hiring freeze introduced in most parts of the company, in measures aimed to save $35m annually.
Sandisk …

Tech firms have come up trumps in the US venture capital stakes, with internet companies showing strong growth for 2006.
According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, internet-specific companies - those whose business is dependent on the internet - raised $4bn in 645 deals in the …

Motorola, the world's second largest mobile phone maker, is cutting 3,500 jobs, following a drastic fall in profits for the fourth quarter.
The company released its results for the three-month period ending 31 December and the full year, on Friday. Profits for the quarter dropped 48 percent compared with the same period in 2005 …

Digital music sales nearly doubled in 2006 but the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry wants more done to stop piracy.
The IFPI published its Digital Music report on Wednesday which estimates that digital music sales reached nearly USD2 billion in 2006, up from USD1.1 billion the previous year.
Music …

Roaming charges are set to plummet after European ministers supported plans to cap the fees, but some countries are supporting watered down proposals.
EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to cut prices by up to 70 percent before next summer, allowing European mobile users to make cheaper phone calls on their …

Nearly half of all Americans who belong to online communities claim that the virtual world they inhabit is as important as the real world.
According to a new study conducted by the USC-Annenberg School Centre for the Digital Future, 43 per cent of those who are part of a virtual community said that they felt as strongly about …

Roaming charges in the EU are such a rip-off, many cross-border travellers simply switch off their phones when abroad.
These high charges are putting people off using their phones when away from home - and consumers want the EU to do something about it.
So says a new EuroBarometer survey, which found that European mobile phone …

Intel is collaborating with several software companies to launch SuiteTwo, an integrated package of Web 2.0 software aimed at small and medium enterprises.
The SuiteTwo package, launched yesterday, will include software from NewsGator, SimpleFeed, Six Apart and Socialtext. These small software companies provide applications for …

Video sharing site YouTube looks set to expand from the web onto mobile phones, with speculation that a deal with telecoms firm Verizon is close to agreement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "advanced" talks are taking place between the companies to bring YouTube's videos to mobile phones and TV.
Under the new deal, …

Vodafone and Microsoft are collaborating on developing software to help users take their office with them while they travel.
The agreement will see the companies co-operate so that applications available to Vodafone users, such as mobile e-mail, are able to work with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.
The deal …

Anti-spam researchers at security company McAfee have discovered a new spamming trend nicknamed 'spam island-hopping'.
The new trend involves spammers using the domain names of small islands as website links in spam campaigns. McAfee has traced spam activity from the Isle of Man to the tiny tropical island of Tokelau in the …

Sony's quarterly profits plunged 94 per cent following fall-out from its exploding battery woes.
The consumer electronic giant's predicament is there for all to see as it posted net profits of just 1.7bn yen ($14.3m €11.3m) for its second financial quarter on Thursday. Sony also reported an operating loss of 20.8bn yen ($175.6m …

A leading MySpace executive has said it is extremely unlikely that there will ever be integration between social networking websites.
Jay Stephens, vice president of sales and operations with MySpace, told attendees at the Empathy Marketing conference in Dublin on Wednesday that sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace are …

Samsung has reported a 16 per cent increase in profits for the third quarter of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005.
The Korean electronics giant posted net profit of 2.19 trillion won (€1.83bn) for the three months ending 30 September. This is far higher than analysts' expectations of a net profit of 1.89 trillion won …

The European Commission is set to drop proceedings against Ireland for infringing European Union telecoms rules.
Ireland was facing action due to the unavailability of automatic caller location information for emergency services when someone dialed them on the single European emergency number: 112.
It is expected the …

Sony Ericsson has announced pre-tax earnings of €433m for its fiscal third quarter, up 187 per cent year-on-year.
This marks a profit increase of €222m compared to the €211m recorded during its last fiscal quarter and a rise of €282m versus the same three-month period a year ago.
Sony Ericsson, which is the world's fourth …

Millionaire entrepreneur Brendan Murtagh has offered to buy Smart Telecom for the grand sum of €1, as well as a 10 per cent stake in BidCo, the company formed to make the offer.
The disposal recommended by Smart's directors means BidCo will assume Smart's estimated liabilities of €40m.
Construction and property industry …

IT professionals in the Netherlands have demonstrated that the type of e-voting machines chosen by the Irish government for election counts can be secretly hacked.
Using documentation obtained from the Irish Department of the Environment, Dutch IT experts from anti e-voting group, "Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet" (We don't …

Smart Telecom suspended trading on the AIM on Tuesday in order to protect its falling share price after infrastructure owner Eircom disconnected around 45,000 of its customers.
It's feared that an additional 17,000 Smart Telecom customers could be left without any broadband or phone services - including emergency calls - as …

In the US a soapbox derby is a go-kart race, and with Microsoft's launch of its Soapbox video service it's certainly racing to catch up with YouTube.
Microsoft has launched a beta version of Soapbox on the MSN Video service which allows internet users to upload and share homemade films. Aside from far and away market leaders …

Irish e-security firm MX-Sweep is to create 10 new jobs as it positions itself to expand in both the Irish and international markets.
The firm, which has its offices in Britain, has decided to open a European sales headquarters in Trim, Co. Meath. MX-Sweep currently employs four staff primarily in executive roles. This latest …

Growth in the worldwide PC market dipped below 10 per cent in the second quarter of 2006, according to latest figures from IDC.
Over 52 million units were shipped globally, representing growth in the quarter of 9.8 per cent. This is 0.6 per cent below expectations and slower than in recent quarters. In light of the results …

Sixty four million people now have broadband access across the 25 countries of the EU, but Ireland remains near the bottom of the pile in terms of penetration.
That's according to the latest Broadband Scorecard, from the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), which reveals that broadband penetration across …

Microsoft has fallen foul of the European Commission yet again over plans for its Vista operating system.
The European Commission is concerned that the tech giant's plans to include certain security features in its new operating system goes against competition regulations, mainly that the included security features will lock …

Irish banks have responded to internet scams such as phishing by setting up a forum to share information on high-tech crime.
Meanwhile, Bank of Ireland has issued a statement re-iterating its policy of not refunding the victims of phishing scams. The bank has said "customers personal log on information is their responsibility …

The mobile phone industry has rejected calls to block the use of mobile phones in cinemas and theatres, describing the idea as inappropriate and impractical.
Irish Cellular Industry Association (ICIA) director Tommy McCabe described the use of mobile phones in places like theatres as a behavioural issue, and one that should be …

Revenue and profit at Sony Ericsson soared during the second quarter on the back of strong sales of its high-end Walkman mobile phones.
The world's fifth biggest mobile phone manufacturer announced revenue of €2.3bn for its fiscal second quarter, a rise of 41 per cent from the year-ago quarter.
Net income for the three months …

Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, announced stronger than expected results for Q1 yesterday.
Profits plumped up 21 per cent based largely on increasing sales in the US market. Net income for the first quarter soared to €1bn compared to €863m in 2005. Revenue at the Espoo, Finland-based company jumped 29 per cent to …

A large number of European businesses are failing to protect themselves from security vulnerabilities, a new study has revealed.
According to security firm McAfee, close to half of those involved in the study believe that their IT infrastructure is never completely protected from software and network vulnerabilities. …

Google is back in the news again after it emerged that the firm recently filed a patent for technology which could lead to voice-assisted search.
Patent no 7027987, which was published on the US Patent and Trademark Office website on Tuesday, is for a "voice interface for a search engine".
The patent describes the interface as …

Sky has launched a new website, which includes sample teaser clips from its new high-definition television service, to be launched before July.
The website allows users to download high-definition video clips to their PCs, including sports and wildlife footage. It also includes information on the equipment users will need to …

Scientists at IBM say they have figured out how to produce smaller and more powerful microchips than previously thought possible. It is hoped IBM's announcement at San Jose on Monday will mean the creation of miniscule microprocessors which will save the IT manufacturing sector billions of dollars.
The breakthrough revolves …

Telecoms company Cable and Wireless (C&W) is in the process of shedding some 28 jobs from its workforce in Ireland, a spokesman for the telecoms firm told Electricnews.net.
C&W is currently undergoing a global restructuring following its takeover of Energis last year. The firm announced in January that it was planning to …

As consumer grumbling grows over roaming call charges, the European Commission is flexing its muscles to force down international charges.
This is one of several points to emerge from Thursday's announcement by the EU's Viviane Reding that ERG, the European Regulators Group, has run out of patience with mobile operators who …

O2 says its customers will no longer incur inadvertent roaming charges while taking calls near the border and has announced a new all-island tariff.
Inadvertent roaming occurs when a mobile phone user unknowingly connects to a base station in Northern Ireland while in the Republic of Ireland, and vice versa. From the beginning …

The market for handhelds reached 2.2m units during the fourth quarter, up 37.6 per cent compared to the preceding quarter, according to IDC's Worldwide Handheld Qview.
However, while sales soared during the last three months of 2005, shipment volumes decreased 18.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2004. Moreover, yearly …

A new ruling by the Irish courts could undermine people who have a genuine need for online anonymity and deter whistleblowers, lobby group Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) claims.
It issued the warning after a High Court judge ordered Eircom, BT and Irish Broadband to hand over the details of 49 customers who have allegedly been …